Kong | The Furry Tales

Olive (and many other dogs I’m sure) hates the regular Elizabethan collar, the plastic “cone of shame” used to keep dogs from licking their wounds or rashes. She completely freezes and will stand for hours staring at you with the cumbersome E-collar on. Hours. That’s if you can monitor her for that long. Because the moment you turn your back, she will shake her head vigorously and paw it off somehow, no matter how tight I’ve tied it on, along with her collar!

So we jumped at the chance to try out the Kong Cushion, which is a comfortable inflatable ring which will prevent your dog from licking their paws or wounds. It is also super easy to clean and to put on with velcro fasteners.

Olive is able to FALL ASLEEP with this on. This says it all. She is still very much conscious of it but it doesn’t bother or scare her like the E-collar. She can eat and drink unhindered. It is effective enough in preventing her from licking and scratching most parts of her, but she can still reach her tail and in some cases, the tip of her hind paws. Maybe a Large will solve that issue completely, but the Medium is good enough for us.

Olive catching up on her beauty sleep…

We do not recommend this ring for dogs who will bite the ring or continuously try to paw it off, as it can be punctured with teeth or sharp nails.

The Kong Cushion is available for sale at Kohepets, ranging from $30 to $56.

Contributed by Vivien Chin
For this post, we have a sweet deal for you. Para4Pets is offering our readers 25% off all purchases, from now till the end of April! Quote “The Furry Tales” when you make your purchase with Para4Pets by Edna and to apply the discount.

Last weekend, The Furry Tales were at the Pet Expo. We had a great time meeting old friends and making new ones. Kafka entered the Obedience Trial at the Intermediate level. Unfortunately, he did not do so well. He seemed to be under the weather and got rather distracted in the ring. He was looking for Lucy his girlfriend. Dum dum dum…. we have to have that “talk” soon. We didn’t do as well as we’d hoped, but at least he looked good! Thank you Para4Pets by Edna for the beautiful collar and leash so that he can look handsome! And thank you to KONG Singapore for his training toys so that he can be happy!

Kafka looking dapper in his Para4Pets collar and leash.

Are you ready? Forward…

Taking the first step forward!

Kafka doing heelwork.

Kafka following closely.

I be the tallest boy in class! Kafka in the sit-stay exercise.

Behind the scenes practice: gimme the ball!

Para4Pets makes bespoke paracord collars and leashes for your furry ones. Kafka had a set sponsored by Para4Pets. The leash was thin and light which is great for training. When you are in the Novice and higher classes, your dog is to heel off the lead. Having a light leash makes the transition from heeling with leash to heeling without leash easier. A thin lead is hard on your hands if you have to bring a 43kg dog around on his regular walks. I suggest ordering a thicker one for that purpose. It’s not advisable to let your dog drag a leash with a loop handle. Serious injury can occur if its leg gets caught in the loop while it’s running. You may order one without a loop handle if you would like to let your dog drag his leash around during training.

For a limited time, Para4Pets is offering our readers 25% off all purchases! It’s a great bargain! Make your order now!

Para4Pets leash. Looks good on Kafka!

Apart from the collar and leash, we were fortunate to also have our toys sponsored. Toys are a great way to reward your dog for good work done. Some dogs love to chase, and fetch and tug. Kafka’s favourite toy is a ball with a rope attached to it. Amongst his toys, he has a KONG Funster ball in X-Small size. He likes a ball that is not too big and fits nicely in his mouth. The X-Small KONG Funsters ball is 2.5″ while the small size is 4″. Four inches is a little too big for training. You want something that can be easy grasped in one hand.

KONG Funsters Ball.

Kong Tugger Knot

Kafka focusing on the “shoulder”.

Watch my “shoulder”.

One way to teach focused heeling in an obedience routine is to place a toy at your “shoulder”, (a nicer term for armpit). This teaches them to look up and not downward.

Wait for it…. wait for it…

The KONG Funster Ball is not just an ordinary ball. It is a fabric ball with a rope attached to it. The rope is rather important. It allows you to throw the ball farther, manipulate the ball, tug at the ball and turn it into a game of tug. Balls without ropes have the potential to get lodge in the dog’s throat. With the rope, you are able to, god forbid, pull the ball out when it gets stuck in your dog’s mouth. This happens, especially, with large, high-drive, dogs and tennis balls. You don’t have to worry so much if the ball is large and your dog is the sort who doesn’t have a sense of urgency.

Enjoying his reward after some work.

Kafka and his KONG Funsters Ball.

Other than a ball, Kafka loves his tug toys. The KONG Tugger Knot is soft yet tough enough even for a German Shepherd. It is made of knotted rope covered by a plush toy exterior. It comes in small, medium and large sizes. The medium sized KONG Frog Tugger Knot was just right for Kafka. It’s big enough for him to clamp his deadly fangs down on and small enough for his mama to manipulate. Large sized Tugger Knots are great just for fun but the smaller sizes are better for training.

Kafka tugging on his KONG Tugger Knots.

NOM NOM NOM!

After placing the toy at your “shoulder”, you can start moving it away so that your dog does not depend too much on the toy for its focal point. I held the toy in my right hand and whenever he looked up to my “shoulder” aka armpit, I rewarded him with the KONG Tugger Knot. In the photo below, I was petting Kafka’s chin with my left hand because he looked so cute.

Kafka must still look up even when the toy is in my other hand.

You have to be fit to keep up with a German Shepherd. I was tired out just playing tug with him.

Kafka the land shark!

Kafka giving me a workout.

In the obedience trials, your hand should not be disturbing the dog. Conventionally, your hand is placed at your side or on the left side of your tummy. The toy was in my right hand, sometimes by my side and sometimes behind me. Kafka still had too look up or at my left hand.

The last exercise of the training sessions are the sit-stays and down-stays. That’s best taught when your dog is not bursting with excitement. They need self-control and patience during those exercises.